Conservationists were pleased last month when the Conservation Bank allocated $11 million to protect about 25,000 acres of land from development. Among the areas protected were 1,700 acres along 16 miles of waterfront property in Chester County on the Catawba River, easements on 12,280 acres along the Ashley River in Dorchester County and 312 acres of a significant Revolutionary War Battlefield in Kershaw County.
That South Carolina needs to provide significantly more money for conservation programs is underscored by efforts of Beaufort County voters and taxpayers who approved a $40 million referendum to protect land, and the 30-year-old Beaufort County Open Land Trust, which has preserved millions in property. Surely, the state can do more than Beaufort County.
Creation of the S.C. Conservation Bank was a major step forward. Money for the fund comes from a portion of deed recording fees devoted to purchasing land or conservation easements. The fund is expected to generate $15 million a year, which the governor advocates maintaining, as least for another year.
South Carolina lags other state effort, however. Arizona voters approved six years ago a plan to spend $20 million a year for 11 years for acquisition of State Trust Lands to conserve open spaces near urban areas experiencing rapid growth.
The Palmetto State plan is low-budget compared to Florida's. Florida's Acquisition and Restoration Council receives about $100 annually through Florida Forever, a program that gets about $300 million a year from documentary stamp taxes, according to the Tallahassee Democrat.
The head of North Carolina's Division of Coastal Management suggested in early 2004 to this state's two-year-old Council on Coastal Futures that much of South Carolina's valuable resources are being compromised and need to be preserved, while informing the people about the importance of coastal resources.
Projections are that South Carolina will gain at least 1 million people within two decades, and half of those people will live on the coastal plain. As South Carolina becomes more urban, development encroaches on rural and irreplaceable natural areas of the state. By controlling growth, communities can control the growth in traffic flow and thus the need for wider roads and other infrastructure.
South Carolina is off to a good start to preserve valuable historic sites and open space, but the state could and should improve on this record as South Carolina competes to become a prime repository of the nation's population.